This invention relates to exercise apparatus, and particularly to an exercise chair.
There has been a trend toward increased attention to and popularization of physical fitness. One aspect of physical fitness is the improvement of muscle tone and strength, which can be and often is facilitated with the assistance of mechanical apparatus such as machines involving weights and resilient members. While many athletic clubs and other institutions provide weightlifting and other exercise apparatus, there is a need for apparatus which can be used at home in order to save time and money, and to allow exercise to be obtained at a convenient time. There is also a need to perform such exercise safely, and it is of course important to perform effectively a variety of exercises suited to overall body development. It is therefore desirable to have an exercise apparatus that facilitates the performance of muscle strengthening and toning exercises yet fits aesthetically in the home environment, takes no extra space, provides an effective set of balanced exercises, and is sufficiently inexpensive that individuals can afford to purchase it.
Previously known exercise apparatus generally fall into several categories. There are exercise apparatus which primarily employ moving members to displace weights or other resilient members. Examples of such apparatus are disclosed in Kulkens U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,941; Kulkens U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,717; LaLanne U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,209; Louvet French Pat. No. 1,420,610; White U.S. Pat. No. 217,918; Friedli U.S. Pat. No. 1,114,458; and Wilson U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,309. Some of the drawbacks of various apparatus of this type are that they employ resistance other than the user's own body weight, they emphasize primarily upper body exercises, they employ parts that are subject to failure because they are moving parts, they take up space that must be dedicated to an exercise apparatus, and they look like a machine.
There are multi-position, basically passive, devices which assist a person in performing a limited number of exercises, but which look like exercise apparatus and require dedicated space. Examples of these are shown in Delinger U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,748 and Schrems U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,109.
There are fold-up, basically passive, apparatus which allow the performance of a number of different exercises and fold into a form which reduces the space that they employ when not in use and changes their appearance so as to be less obtrusive. Examples of these are shown in Lloyd U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,666; Agyagos U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,378; and Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,709,487. In such apparatus the emphasis in the folded up position is on hiding the apparatus or putting it in a less obtrusive form, rather than employing the apparatus in a useful way. Thus, for example, while the device in Walker folds into a form resembling a chair, the shape of the chair is not adapted for relaxation since it requires one to sit with a rigid, upright posture.
In addition, there are specialty items for specific types of exercising, such as the devices shown in Andrews U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,921 and Sassenberg U.S. Pat. Des. No. 216,721.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved exercise apparatus that can be utilized at home both as an exercise apparatus and as a useful and aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture so as to provide a facility for an effective set of exercises without taking up additional space. There is also a need for such an apparatus that increases exercise safety by providing resistance based primarily upon the user's own body weight.